NME ARTISTS

Idlewild

Biography

Idlewild are a Scottish indie rock band that formed in Edinburgh in 1995. The band's line-up consists of Roddy Woomble (lead vocals), Rod Jones (guitar, backing vocals), Colin Newton (drums), Andrew Mitchell (bass) and Luciano Rossi (keyboards). To date, Idlewild have released seven full-length studio albums, with their latest, Everything Ever Written, released in February 2015.

Initially, Idlewild's sound was faster and more dissonant than many of their 1990s indie rock contemporaries. However, it developed over time from an edgy and angular sound (as heard in their early material--once described by the NME as "the sound of a flight of stairs falling down a flight of stairs") to a sweeping, melodic rock sound as displayed on The Remote Part and Warnings/Promises. While Idlewild's sound cannot be easily placed into a specific genre, they have clearly been influenced by the likes of: Gang of Four, Pavement, R.E.M., Blur and Fugazi.

In 2010, the band entered an indefinite hiatus, but reunited in late 2013 to begin work on a new studio album.